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The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

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Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

#61
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I expect the same way you do now

Right now zippers have a piece of fabric. You can sew it with any machine or even by hand. This new one requires a special machine to sew it.

I bet it could be done by hand by an experienced hand

Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

#63
post #23
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the other zippers will still exist. Clothes without zippers will still exist. Roughly nobody does this anyway.

>Roughly nobody does this anyway. I had at least z dozen zippers replaced through my life. Some times you a very good product with poorly chosen zipper, some times it is some sort of an accident. I find the idea of buying a new coat instead of fixing a small part of the old one weird.

I'm in my 40s and don't think I've ever replaced a zipper. I'm sure a handful have broken over my lifetime, but never on something nice enough to be worth repairing. I wouldn't buy clothing based on the possibility of this (to me) extreme edge case.

Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

#65
post #4

After reading the article I have no idea what is different in the new version.

What I can't figure out is how the new version attached to the fabric. That's at the core of this right? Metal-fabric interface.

The pdf linked in other threads shows that the teeth have a fabric cord running through the middle of them. Then each tooth is surrounded by about 18 tiny stitches.

https://imgur.com/a/o1jxAuS

Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

#68

"Major Upgrade" for the fast, disposable fashion crowd. Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair. This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine, or even at a typical professional repair shop. YKK documents say a "dedicated AiryString® sewing machine" is required.[1] [1] https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p...

>Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair.

But it seems the exact opposite is true. These zippers should be easily removable, leaving the fabric mostly intact. After that you can put in a normal zipper.

Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

#69

"Major Upgrade" for the fast, disposable fashion crowd. Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair. This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine, or even at a typical professional repair shop. YKK documents say a "dedicated AiryString® sewing machine" is required.[1] [1] https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p...

Fabrics have gotten a lot thinner, and thus develop holes a lot more quickly. I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them. Also, you mentioning the inability to repair stuff at home makes me sad. My mom, 72 year old, repaired my nephew's jacket the other day. Brand new zipper. The machine in that PDF you shared makes me feel YKK is going in…

The fix is easy: Don’t buy new clothes from fast fashion brands or stores.

If you only buy quality from small stores and independent designers you still get the same quality you got 15 years ago. Sure it’s 2-3 times the price but it’s worth it.

Re: The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years

#70

"Major Upgrade" for the fast, disposable fashion crowd. Major downgrade for maintainability and ability to repair. This "upgraded" zipper will be impossible to replace if broken at home, by hand or with a machine, or even at a typical professional repair shop. YKK documents say a "dedicated AiryString® sewing machine" is required.[1] [1] https://ykkdigitalshowroom.com/assets/AiryString_202507_en.p...

Fabrics have gotten a lot thinner, and thus develop holes a lot more quickly. I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them. Also, you mentioning the inability to repair stuff at home makes me sad. My mom, 72 year old, repaired my nephew's jacket the other day. Brand new zipper. The machine in that PDF you shared makes me feel YKK is going in…

> I have t-shirts from 2010 which are faded but have 0 holes. Whereas t-shirts I bought half a year ago have holes in them.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Survivor...

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